“He has to make it perfectly clear to the club that he wants to leave”- BBC pundit Danny Murphy urges Declan Rice to force West Ham exit after Hammers reject latest Arsenal’s £90million+ bid

Danny Murphy believes West Ham and England midfielder Declan Rice may have to force his way out of the club this summer.

The talkSPORT pundit has suggested that the player now has a decision to make on the matter amid his links to Arsenal.

The Gunners had a £90million bid rejected for the England international on Tuesday (20 June), according to Sky Sports.

“As of now, Man City aren’t in [for Rice],” Murphy said live on talkSPORT. “So Arsenal actually don’t have to rush him.

“Because it gets to a point where Declan has a decision to make. And that means, has he got the courage to kick up, to get out.

“It means that you have to make it perfectly clear to the club and say ‘If you keep me here, I won’t be playing.”

‘I know he’s not that type of lad but sometimes you have to be Craig Bellamy, Joey Barton – you’ve got to look after yourself.

‘I only had it once in my career, but you have to be able to follow through.

‘It means you have to make it perfectly clear , ‘If you keep me here I won’t be playing’, and even if you don’t really believe it long-term, you have to do it and make them believe.

‘Is it a professional thing to do? It doesn’t matter. You’ve got to look after yourself.

It’s certainly been the case with many players before whereby they kick up a fuss in order to get a move away from their current club for whatever reason.

But that really doesn’t seem likely with Rice and West Ham, with the latter simply holding out and testing the Gunners to see just how far they can take the deal.

The midfielder looks certain to leave the London Stadium, but the Hammers hold all the power in the negotiations, and it’s clear that Arsenal really want his signature.

Not only do they want to lowball West Ham, but they also want to complete a deal for the midfielder sooner rather than later.

That, however, remains unlikely, with the summer transfer window only just beginning, meaning West Ham really can take as much time as they like.

That means Arsenal need to be really patient in their pursuit, but of course they will be wary of approaches or even bids from other clubs for the Hammers star.